Paul Russell wrote:

> ----- begin quote -----
> In 1986, a BITNET programmer in Paris named Eric Thomas wrote a tool called
> Listserv that automated the administrator's task of managing subscriptions.
> It also made message distribution more efficient, virtually eliminating the
> crippling traffic jams. The tool was quickly adopted elsewhere, and the
> number of e-mail lists on academic networks exploded.
> ----- end -----

But the "revolutionary" part of it was the DISTRIBUTE mechanism, as the
Bitnet topology was well known (directed tree), and all servers in the
"backbone" participated in distributing mail to the list recipients.

Jeff Kell